BACKGROUND AND AIMS The genus Fritillaria (Liliaceae) comprises species with extremely large genomes (1C = 30 000-127 000 Mb) and a bicontinental distribution. Most North American species (subgenus Liliorhiza) differ from Eurasian Fritillaria species by their distinct phylogenetic position and increased amounts of heterochromatin. This study examined the contribution of major repetitive element...

Salps are barrel-shaped marine invertebrates that swim by jet propulsion. Morphological variations among species and life-cycle stages are accompanied by differences in swimming mode. The goal of this investigation was to compare propulsive jet wakes and swimming performance variables among morphologically distinct salp species (Pegea confoederata, Weelia (Salpa) cylindrica, Cyclosalpa sp.) and...

Variation in nuclear DNA content within some eukaryotic species is well documented, but causes and consequences of such variation remain unclear. Here we report genome size of an estuarine and salt-marsh calanoid copepod, Eurytemora affinis, which has recently invaded inland freshwater habitats independently and repeatedly in North America, Europe, and Asia. Adults and embryos of E. affinis fro...

The epipelagic flyingfish, Hirundichthys affinis is a major artisanal fishery resource from the Northeastern coastal waters of Brazil. However, biological information about this species has been poorly documented. This paper presents data on the length-weight relationship, sex ratio, length at first sexual maturity, gonadal development and fecundity of H. affinis sampled from the coastal waters...

We tested three species of praying mantis, Parasphendale affinis, Popa spurca and Sphodromantis lineola, with computer-generated stimuli that differed in size, contrast, configuration and movement pattern to determine the effects of these parameters on visual tracking and striking behavior. Overall, black disks moving erratically against a white background were strong releasers of both behavior...

We have constructed restriction-site maps of the mtDNAs in 13 species and one subspecies of the Drosophila obscura group. The traditional division of this group into two subgroups (affinis and obscura) does not correspond to the phylogeny of the group, which shows two well-defined clusters (the Nearctic affinis and pseudoobscura subgroups) plus a very heterogeneous set of anciently diverged spe...

Invertebrates were collected and identified from the stomach contents of eight mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) populations in the northern Waikato region of New Zealand at 3-month intervals from December 1994 to September 1995. To investigate temporal and spatial patterns in dietary composition a novel analysis programme was created that used Gower's similarity coefficient. The analysis found d...

The swimming kinematics of the eastern Pacific bonito Sarda chiliensis at a range of sustained speeds were analyzed to test the hypothesis that the bonito's swimming mode differs from the thunniform locomotor mode of tunas. Eight bonito (fork length FL 47.5+/-2.1 cm, mass 1.25+/-0.15 kg) (mean +/- S.D.) swam at speeds of 50-130 cm s(-1) at 18+/-2 degrees C in the same temperature-controlled wat...

This paper describes three species of the genus Tripyla from New Zealand and provides a key to species based on the morphology of females. Tripyla daviesae sp. nov. is characterized by its short body length (L = 1143-1363 μm), relatively anterior vulva (V = 50-51%), and the length of the gubernaculum (13-17 μm). Tripyla tirau sp. nov. is characterized by its relatively posterior vulva (V = 55.5...